Autumn - A time for new beginnings?

As I sit here in my practice I'm able to look out of a large window into the back garden.  Just a quick glance is enough to confirm that we are now firmly into autumn.  The most delicate plants have already lost their leaves and those that remain are taking on hues of gold, russet and ochre.  On a day like today with a clear sky and bright sunshine there is still much greenery to be seen; only a few gaps reveal dark brown, earth where the summer flowers were once found.  But these gaps interest me most of all, for it is where summer plants have been removed or cut back I now see the early signs of new growth.  The clearing of the summer plants allows the autumn sun to bathe the exposed soil with its warmth.  New shoots appear of plants which will thrive as we move into colder months.  In some areas plants are exposed which have been present all summer but long forgotten, covered with the abundant foliage of summer.  As the sun rediscovers these plants it can nurture them with warmth and encourage them to grow so that they might be less easily forgotten in the future.

 Many people talk of autumn as a time for endings, the year is nearing its end there is no doubt that the warmth of summer is long gone.  It is only when you look a little deeper that you see the new beginnings.  The seeds of growth which can be seen when we let go of what is no longer useful.  Without removing the summer flowers we would never allow the arrival of snowdrops which are better suited to the colder weather ahead.  If we held on to the summer pansies into the winter because they had looked so good we would soon realise that they were not right for the season and we would rob ourselves of the colours of wintertime.

Perhaps it is fitting that it is in autumn that we find the beginning of the school year. Many adults also choose to start new courses and learn new skills.  It's in these new beginnings that you will find the seeds of what is to come.  There is no better time to learn new things and no better time to let go of what is no longer providing for us.